Blog 2: The Mental Game of Endurance
Part 2: Building Mental Toughness Through Training Habits
Welcome back to our next blog in The Mental Game of Endurance series. If you missed Blog 1 where Dr. Keirstyn speaks about what the ‘mental game’ in endurance really means, go back first before reading this one!
You're not born mentally tough. (Sorry to break it to you!) You become mentally tough by repeatedly exposing yourself to discomfort in controlled environments and learning you can handle it.
Every training session is mental rehearsal for race day. Most athletes waste this opportunity by only focusing on physical adaptation and leave a lot of performance in the tank.
Training Environment: Why Discomfort Builds Resilience
The Principle: Your brain adapts to what it repeatedly experiences. If you only train comfortably, your brain learns discomfort = stop. If you regularly train uncomfortably and manage it, your brain recalibrates.
How to Apply:
Train in Variable Conditions:
Hot, cold, windy, rainy days (don’t become a fairweather athlete)
Early mornings, after work when tired
Imperfect courses
Why: Race day won't be perfect. Training in imperfect conditions teaches your brain you can perform anyway.
Practice Discomfort Regularly:
Tempo runs at threshold
Hill repeats that burn
Long runs testing patience
Interval sessions that hurt
Why: You're teaching your brain that discomfort is temporary and manageable, not a signal to quit.
Training Like Competition
The Problem: Athletes train at comfortable paces with breaks or with music in that pumps adrenaline to help numb them, then expect to execute perfectly under race pressure.
The Solution: Race Simulation Workouts
Practice race pace for extended periods
Minimal breaks (like race day)
Pre-race nutrition protocols
Start conservative, finish strong (negative splits)
Competition Environment Training:
Join group workouts where you're not the fastest
Practice on race courses
Simulate race logistics (early wake-up, travel, warmup)
Why It Works: The more familiar race-day feelings are, the less they'll overwhelm you.
Micro-Challenges: Low-Stakes Mental Practice
You build mental toughness through small daily decisions to do hard things.
Examples:
Cold morning runs: Choosing discomfort over comfort
No-music days: Running without distraction forces presence
Extra 5-minute push: Adding effort when tired
Hill repeats: Short, intense, uncomfortable with clear endpoints
Pace holds: Maintaining target pace when fatigued
The Accumulation: Each small choice compounds. You're building proof: "I've done hard things before. I can do this too." I like to explain this from my personal experience as though choosing to do hard things; the workout in the cold, early morning or when you just don’t want to, as money to be cashed in a piggy bank. Every time you do those hard things it is adding money to your piggy bank. Come race day you have now built up many reasons why (money) that you CAN do it and you can TRUST your training!
Skill Spotlight: "Controlled Suffering"
The Critical Distinction:
Discomfort: Burning lungs, heavy legs, fatigue (safe to push through)
Danger: Sharp pain, dizziness, chest pain, injury signals, pain is above 4/10 (must stop)
Most athletes confuse the two and back off prematurely.
Practice: During threshold efforts, label sensations:
"My legs are heavy" (discomfort, safe)
"My breathing is hard" (discomfort, safe)
"My knee has sharp pain" (danger, stop)
Weekly Mental Practice
Pick ONE per week:
Week 1: Last 5-minute push at faster-than-comfortable pace
Week 2: One no-music run, stay present with effort
Week 3: One workout in uncomfortable conditions
Week 4: Hold exact target pace entire distance
Track it in your training log(or mentally in your piggy bank!). You're building evidence you can handle hard things.
Takeaway
Mental toughness comes from hundreds of small decisions to stay present, manage discomfort, and execute when it's hard. If you are looking for more strategies feel free to reach out to Dr. Keirstyn at Endurance Therapeutics about coaching programs today!
Next Up: Part 3 — Tools & Techniques for Staying Mentally Strong on Race Day